PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Nenad Mladenović

Also known as Nenad Mladenovic

Nenad Mladenović was a mathematician and optimization researcher who developed the Variable Neighborhood Search metaheuristic with Pierre Hansen in 1997, a method that is widely used in artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. He held mathematics degrees from the University of Belgrade, taught at its Faculty of Organizational Sciences from 1985, and worked as a researcher at GERAD at the University of Montreal from 1993 to 2000. Posts followed at the Mathematical Institute in Belgrade, the University of Birmingham and Brunel University London, and Academia Europaea elected him in 2012. Guide2Research ranked him second among scientists in the UAE in 2020, and in 2021 he co-chaired the 8th International Conference on Variable Neighborhood Search in Abu Dhabi. He died in 2022, while a professor of industrial and systems engineering at Khalifa University.

Born
1951
Died
2022
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1985–2000

    Teaching in Belgrade, research in Montreal

    He holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Belgrade. At its Faculty of Organizational Sciences he is an assistant professor from 1985 and an associate professor from 1988, and from 1993 to 2000 he is a professional researcher at GERAD at the University of Montreal.

  2. 1997

    Variable neighborhood search with Hansen

    In 1997, he and Pierre Hansen propose variable neighborhood search, a metaheuristic for combinatorial and global optimization problems. The method explores distant neighborhoods of the current solution and moves to a new one if and only if an improvement was made, and its applications include location theory, cluster analysis, scheduling, vehicle routing and artificial intelligence.

  3. 2000–2007

    Belgrade, Birmingham and Brunel posts

    In 2000, he joins the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Science in Belgrade as a higher scientific associate, and in 2002 he becomes a research professor there. In 2001, he becomes president of the Yugoslav Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2005, he is a senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham and a reader at Brunel University London, both in their schools of mathematics, and from 2007 he is a professor at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences in Belgrade.

  4. 2012

    Election to Academia Europaea

    In 2012, he is elected to Academia Europaea, in its Informatics section, with Serbia as his country of residence. The academy is a non-governmental organization of scientists and scholars that promotes learning, education and research.

  5. 2020

    Second-ranked scientist in the UAE

    Guide2Research's 2020 Computer Science and Electronics Top Scientists Ranking places him second among scientists in the UAE for his work in optimization, and he is a professor of industrial and systems engineering at Khalifa University. His three most cited approaches are variable neighborhood search, formulation space search and the less is more approach, and organizations such as Hydro-Quebec Canada, Avis Car Rentals and Ultramar Canada use these techniques.

  6. March 2021

    Co-chairing ICVNS 2021 in Abu Dhabi

    In March 2021, he is a general co-chair, with Mohammed Omar, of the 8th International Conference on Variable Neighborhood Search, which Khalifa University and the EURO Working Group on Metaheuristics hold virtually in Abu Dhabi. The conference is dedicated to the VNS technique he proposed, which is widely used in many artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

  7. 2022

    Mourned by Khalifa University

    He dies in 2022. Khalifa University mourns him in June 2022 as a professor of industrial and systems engineering who was ranked second among scientists in the UAE, and credits his contribution to creating the optimization and AI method Variable Neighborhood Search.

Career

  1. Until 2022Khalifa University of Science and TechnologyProfessor of industrial and systems engineering
  2. From 2005University of BirminghamSenior lecturer
  3. From 2005Brunel University of LondonReader
  4. From 2001Yugoslav Society of Industrial and Applied MathematicsPresident
  5. 2000–2002Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsHigher scientific associate, Research professor
  6. 1993–2000Université de MontréalProfessional researcher
  7. 1985–1988University of BelgradeAssistant professor, Associate professor

Education

  1. University of BelgradeBachelor's degree

From the biography.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Université de Montréal. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes Université de Montréal. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  3. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes Université de Montréal. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Université de Montréal. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Fallecimiento del Profesor Nenad Mladenovic | Instituto de Matemática Interdisciplinar (IMI) ucm.es. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Academy of Europe: Mladenovic Nenad ae-info.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Variable neighborhood search - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. KU Professor Recognized as One of the Top Scientists in the UAE - Khalifa University ku.ac.ae. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi Tourism and EURO Working Group on Metaheuristics Bring 8th Virtual International Conference on Variable Neighborhood Search to UAE - Khalifa University ku.ac.ae. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. President's Memo - Khalifa University ku.ac.ae. Checked 22 October 2026.